DNB Eesti, the Estonian subsidiary of Norwegian financial services group DNB, earned a net profit of €1.9 million in the first quarter of 2017, an 85 percent increase over the same three-month period last year.

The profit was mainly due to an increased leasing portfolio, decrease in expenses, and improved quality of the loan portfolio, DNB said.

The bank's deposit portfolio increased 10 percent year over year to €331 million. Leasing experienced the biggest growth, with the portfolio expanding by 7.5 percent to €227 million.

The increase in the leasing portfolio was supported in the first quarter by important transactions made in the field of industrial equipment as well as construction vehicles and machines. "The Estonian industrial sector is moving at the same pace with public sector procurements, which is why it is absolutely consistent with expectations that the leasing of industrial equipment picks up in spring," said Jaan Liitmäe, head of leasing at DNB.

DNB is undergoing changes which will result in a merger of the Baltic operations of DNB and Nordea and the creation of a new bank, Luminor OÜ. "Our goal is to offer quality services to continue meeting the expectations of our business customers," said Ivars Kapitovičs, general manager of DNB Bank. "This is also a good basis for the creation of the new bank."

Chairman of the Social Democratic Party (SDE) and former minister of health and labour, Jevgeni Ossinovski expects poverty in Estonia to decrease as an effect of the current government's income tax reform, though the actual impact will become clear only after data is evaluated next year.